India's ruling Congress party expels 6 lawmakers for disrupting Parliament over new state formation

Increases the bookmark

NEW DELHI, Feb. 11 -- India's ruling Congress party Tuesday expelled six of its lawmakers, belonging to the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, for disrupting Parliament by continuously protesting against the division of their state to create a new state of Telangana, sources said.

These six Members of Parliament also brought in a no-confidence motion against the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government, after the Indian Cabinet recently approved the formation of the country's 29th state, the sources said.

Meanwhile, both Houses of Parliament -- the Upper House (Rajya Sabha) and the Lower House (Lok Sabha) -- were adjourned following ruckus from opposition parties as well as Congress lawmakers from Andhra Pradesh over the creation of Telangana, for the fifth day in a row.

The Indian government was forced by the chaos to shelve its plan to introduce the Telangana Bill to Lok Sabha for a debate this morning.

The current Winter Session of Parliament ends on Feb. 21.

Experts say that this is the last chance for the Congress-led government to pass the bill before the general elections in May so that it can claim credit in the polls and gain with voters in the region, a ploy which may not succeed till opposition parties, including the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), agrees.